Leap Into The Stars
by Quantum Leaper
Summary: Stargate Quantum Leap crossover. Sam finds himself in a situation where more is at stake than just keeping his identity secret. Note: not currently being worked on and not finished.
1. The Leap In

Author's Note: The following story expects the reader to be fairly familiar with both Stargate SG-1 and Quantum Leap. It will also assume that the final episode of Quantum Leap did not happen (which is the opinion of many Quantum Leap fans.) This is my first attempt at any kind of writing, much less fan fiction, so please read and review it. I hope you enjoy! Oh, yes, and I cannot claim nor do I have any rights to Quantum Leap, Stargate, or their owners or affiliates.

As the blue light faded, Sam found himself walking in a forest. The light cool fog and the thick layer of needles with a scattering of green undergrowth he could see from between the huge spruce and pine trees that surrounded him hinted that it was mid spring, just before daybreak. Sam paused to take in the beauty of his surroundings. After leaping into intense situations almost all of the time, it was nice to find himself in a quiet spot, away from having to catch himself from doing anything stupid or trying desperately to not let it be known that suddenly he was another person. Maybe he was a hunter or a botanist this time around. A quick look at what was in his hand convinced him otherwise, though. Hunters did not use the kind of gun Sam had clinched in his hand, nor do they wear Kevlar vests or carry grenades. Following his hunch, Sam fumbled around his neck and pulled out the dog tags that were hanging there.

"_So, I'm some kind of soldier. Let's see what my name is."_ As he placed the tags in front of him and turned them so he could read the writing, he could make out Colonel Jack O'Neil, USAF. _"Hi Jack, nice to meet ya…now what are you doing here in the middle of a coniferous forest?"_

Suddenly a rustling in the bushes behind him caused him to turn around to discover another soldier. The man was wearing the same kind of basic brown and camouflage clothing, but a lack of the artillery and his basic posture convinced Sam that he was not military, maybe a consultant or something for this…mission? Exercise? War? Sam rapidly went through what memory he had of history to see if he could recollect a battle being fought in such a forest, but his memory had been proven wrong on more one occasion. Hopefully, though, his failure to recall any kind of major war fought in such a forest would prove to be accurate.

"Jack, is anything wrong?" the new man asked. "We're still going east, right? The pyramid is suppose to be only 10 miles or so from the drop-off point, so it should be really close."

Sam looked down and quickly found a compass, which he opened. "Yes, we're still going east. I just was admiring Mother Nature, you know, stopping to smell the…trees"

The man gave Sam a strange look "You mean of all the planets we have traveled to you choose Earth to suddenly fall in love with nature?" The man shrugged and looked ahead. "Well, Sam and Teal'c are already over that hill, so we better get going. I can't wait to get a look at this place. The satellite photos made the pyramid strikingly similar to the pyramids in Egypt, and you remember how those were landing pads for mother ships. I'm hoping that maybe this one was liberated by the local population, just prior to the rebellion in Egypt, and in their haste they might have left something behind, say, like a sarcophagus." The man looked at Sam again. "I know, all this is boring to you, but realize that if we find something that the Goul'd forget, like a weapon, then we could defend the Earth from attack or possibly use it to rescue Skaara or Sha're."

Sam didn't know what to make of the mouthful that this man had just said. "Okay," was all he could come up with. The man looked at Sam strangely again, but decided to let it drop.

They were so close to the pyramid, and Daniel was anxious to get there and see if it had any potential. He was glad that General Hammond let him and SG-1 go after the pyramid; this wasn't their usual mission, but the secrecy of the Stargate program and Daniel's eagerness to search the ruin himself had led Hammond to grant his request. _"Hey,"_ Daniel thought, _"At least this time the forest we're walking through is on Earth."_ Although he loved the fact that he traveled to other planets weekly, it was nice to be on familiar ground. He knew that this was not Jack or Teal's cup of tea, but even they grudgingly admitted that it would be a nice change of pace to explore Earth for once.

Sam hurried over the ridge to collect his thoughts and try to meet the other people the man was talking about. Mother ships? A pyramid in the middle of a forest? And what the hell was Goul'd? To think that the pyramids in Egypt were landing pads for aliens was stuff for science fiction, not for the Air Force. Maybe he was using code, but Sam got the sinking feeling that indeed, they were out there to investigate a pyramid that dated back to ancient times, and if that was true, it gave credit to the rest of the statement.

As he scurried over the hill, the fog parted and the morning sun shone down upon a great sight. Sitting in the valley at the bottom of the hill was a huge structure, covered by trees and vegetation but still visible through the foliage. "It's got to be at least 5 stories high!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"About 6 stories, actually." Daniel replied. "Isn't she beautiful! Look at how the structure has withstood the test of time. Let's catch up to Teal'c and Sam at the entrance."

Sam looked down and saw a woman with short blond hair and dressed like him standing next to a large black man. _"What kind of a name is Teal'c?"_ Sam wondered.

Sam and Daniel walked down to the entrance to the pyramid to meet the others. As Sam approached, he was still trying to get a handle on who and what he had Leaped into. _"Okay, I'm a Colonel in the Air Force, and I'm on some kind of mission to explore this pyramid which isn't suppose to be here in the first place. These people obviously have worked with me before, and by the way this man calls me Jack he is definitely not in the Air Force."_ As he approached the other members of SG-1, his mind was still racing to grasp all the information he could. _"The blond woman is definitely…well, almost definitely, Air Force, and the black man is…what the…!"_

The shock of what Sam saw must have shown on his face, because the woman looked at him and asked "Sir, is anything wrong?"

Sam quickly recuperated and replied. "No, everything is fine. Um, have you found a way in yet?" As the woman was explaining how the door was activated, Sam only partially listened. All he could do is stare at the symbol atop the black man's forehead. _"It looks to be gold, and the character is definitely Egyptian; I think it's a snake. How in the world did this man get a gold snake on his forehead, and why is there a pyramid in the middle of a huge forest, and what does any of this have to do with other planets and mother ships?"_ All Sam could do was mutter under his breath "Oh boy!"


	2. What Is Going On?

Author's Note: Thanks for the people who have read my fanfic, all two of you! Also, I am going to try and refer to Samantha Carter as Carter, not Sam, as the two, Sam Beckett and Samantha Carter, might get confusing. I hope you enjoy the next installment!

Jack opened his eyes and saw…white. White everywhere. He tried to clear the cloudiness of sleep that encompassed his brain. Closing his eyes, he tried to place together the last pieces of information he could remember. He was walking through the Idaho forest with his team towards some ancient pyramid that was just discovered. The last thing he remembered was stopping to make sure Daniel was still with them. Opening his eyes again, Jack became aware that in fact he was looking at the ceiling of a white room. Managing to sit up, more of the room became visible to him. It was unlike any regular Air Force issued room, with the walls colored white and padded, and apart from the steel table he was lying on and an adjourning room which looked like a bathroom, Jack saw no other furniture or room decorations. "Great, they finally stuck me in the loony bin. I'm surprised it took them this long." A new headache and the confusion of the situation did little for Jack's demur. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, determined to find out what indeed was going on. Several thoughts went through his head, including capture by the Goul'd, but that was quickly negated. The room looked nothing like a typical Goul'd cell and it bore such a striking resemblance to a hospital that that was the most likely call.

"Hello? Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Jack noticed a small window set high in the room. "I know someone is up there. Hello?" By this time Jack was not a happy camper. How in the world did he get from the forest to here? How long had he been out of it? Where was the rest of his team? Discovering another door to the left of him, Jack started banging on it with his fist. "Hello, anyone there. Lucy, I'm home! Let me outta here!"

* * *

"Admiral, our guest has awakened" a smooth soft female voice spoke through the intercom system. Admiral Al Calavicci looked up from his desk and sighed.

"Alright Ziggy, I'll be right there."

It had been a week since Sam's last Leap, and it was always good to know that he was still out there. It had been two years already since the first Leap, but no matter how many times it happened, Al silently hoped that this time, this time his long lost friend would return home. The repetitive experience of walking into the observation room and seeing his best friend's body occupied by a stranger had done more to Al than sometimes even he knew. Getting himself together, Al rose from his desk and headed for the door, uttering a not so silent prayer to God or Time or Fate or whatever was now ultimately in charge of the Project.

"Maybe this time our guest will be cooperative. Maybe."

* * *

"Jack, this is incredible. I mean, look at the hieroglyphics. They're definitely from the same time period as the ancient Egyptians. This section of the wall talks about a race of being that use to be here before the gods, and how this race left quickly. The style of the symbols indicate possibly a more archaic form of Egyptian that in most all of the pyramids in Egypt; it's almost a combination of Latin and Egyptian."

Sam stepped into the room that Daniel was currently examining. The outer door had led into this small room, and from their no apparent door or exit had yet been found to lead further into the structure. Sam tried to hide his excitement, but the scientists and linguist in him could not help but try and decipher the language himself. He realized that Daniel (by this time, the others had referred to each other by name) was an accomplished translator and archaeologist from his quick ability to decipher the text written on the walls. The room itself was bare, with no furniture or alter, which was a puzzle to Sam. Why have such a huge structure with only one small room inside?

"Another door or a secret passage to the rest of the pyramid has to be around here somewhere." Sam offered.

"Are you actually taking an interest in the pyramid, Jack? I though you came to babysit or something?"

Sam looked down and tried to think of something. "Well, I mean, if this was it, it would be an awful waste of space. Plus, if you have weapons or something secret, you would hide it, right?" From what Sam was gathering, Jack did not fill the position of a scientist on this mission.

"Well, the Egyptians did have secret passages in the pyramids in Egypt to gain access to the pharaoh's crypt without having its location known to grave robbers. I'm hoping that something like that is located here."

Carter walked through the entry door into the small room, focusing on the reading coming from a gadget she held in her hand. "Sir, I would like to run some scans of the room to see if I can pick up any energy reading to indicate Goul'd technology." She glanced at Sam, who was looking at the wall. "Sir?"

"Oh, um, affirmative Captian." Sam uttered. He was focused on the writings on the wall, not paying attention to the fact that both Daniel and Carter looked at each other in surprise.

"Sir, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Carter had a concerned tone that caused Sam to look up. The figure of Carter holding the scanning device and standing in the room with the natural light emanating from the open doorway surrounding her caught Sam off guard for a second. _"She almost looks like Al standing in the Imaging Chamber door."_

"I'm fine, Carter. Go ahead and run your scans." Sam knew that he had brought up suspicion again, and judging by the closeness of this group, he knew that the leeway that he usually held during Leaps was lacking in this one. He hoped that the discovery of whatever lay ahead would take some pressure off him. The similarities of the sight of Carter brought another factor into his thoughts. _"Where the hell is Al, anyway? It would be nice if he could for once show up and tell me what was going on, especially in this Leap."_

Focusing back on the room, Sam took a look at the opposite side of the wall where Daniel was working. His Swiss cheese memory, which was fickle sometimes, suddenly kicked into gear and Sam started to translate some of the text. _"The old beings of Earth are gone, but their legacy still lingers all around us. Their secrets will be revealed when we are ready to receive them."_ Noticing a small sentence towards the undecorated bottom of the wall, Sam squatted to take a better look. _"Jonah the worker smells like a camel."_ Laughing to himself, he thought _"Well, even ancient workers wrote graffiti."_ As he stood up, an inconsistency in the writing caught his eye. A word was misspelled on the wall. _"No way would the priests allow a word to be misspelled."_ He placed his fingers on the added letter, and the pressure from his fingers caused the letter to sink into the wall and pop out again.

Suddenly a light appeared in the middle of the room, emanating from a hole that opened in the ceiling. Carter, who was standing in the middle of the room, grabbed her gun and looked up. "Carter, get out of there!" was all Sam could think to say as he lunged for her, trying to move here away from the light. Daniel, watching in shock, tried to get up from his position at the base of the wall, but before he could stand on his feet, the light had disappeared, along with Sam and Carter.


	3. Back at Base

Author's Note: Wow, now I have 3 reviews. I'm cooking with gas people, so come on down and leave your input. Oh, and I hope you enjoy the next installment of our little adventure here.

P.S. I have redone the first three chapters in response to the more reviews that I've received. Hopefully I've taken care of the their/they're/there problems and the misworded words. Thanks to everyone that has left me things to work with, and I promise Chapter 4 will be posted very soon.

* * *

"It appears that our guest has calmed down a little" Beeks said as Al entered the observation room annex. She was seated at her desk in front of a computer screen which held several views of the same white padded room. "He was shouting for someone to explain things, but now he's just sitting on the bed. This one looks to be not your typical scared individual. Good luck with him, Al."

Al gave Beeks a tired grin and headed towards the observation room. As he was about to enter, Gooshie came bolting from the control room, obviously agitated.

"Al, Ziggy refuses to tell us where Sam is. She says she knew where he was, but he's not there anymore, which doesn't make sense, and now I think she's worried about being wrong, because she refuses to give us anything."

Looking towards the observation room, Al paused to digest this new information. Reaching a conclusion to the problems that had been rolling around his head, Al straightened up, took a deep breath, and gained some of his composure. His friend needed him, the project needed him, and by George, he wasn't going to let either of them down. "Alright, let me go and see if our visitor can tell us anything before I tackle Ziggy. Plus, that'll give her a chance to clear her circuits. God I wish Sam hadn't programmed her with such a big ego!"

* * *

The light suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Sam found himself lying atop Carter. Quickly he jumped to his feet. "Carter, are you all right?"

She looked around as she rose. "I'm fine sir, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Nothing broken, maybe something bruised from the fall, but other than that…" Both Sam and Carter looked around at their new surroundings. They could only see as far as their flashlights reached into the blackness, but it looked like they were in a room very similar to the room they had just occupied. The only difference was that the outside entry door was gone, and across the room was a doorway leading to more darkness.

"Sir, it appears the light was some sort of beaming device, similar to the rings of the Goul'd. I'm going to try my radio and see if I can get a mayday through regular emergency channels; we might just be in another part of the pyramid."

Carter started arranging the settings on her radio while Sam took a closer look at the walls. The writings had definitely changed, but it seemed that instead of mythical legends it was more technical. The material of the wall itself was different; instead of a limestone color, it was golden, and the metal was smooth to the touch. It appeared to Sam that wherever they were, even though the room dimensions were the same, it was not where they had been. The implications of what had just occurred boggled his mind. _"How can we be somewhere else? Beaming technology is something on Star Trek. What in the world have I gotten myself into?_ Then another thought crossed hid mind, one more frightening and exciting than he would have thought otherwise_. "Maybe I've Leaped into the future! That would explain the references to ships and other planets and beaming technology. But the same kind of hand guns and same camouflage as they would have in later 20th century are here, so that doesn't make sense._ Another thought hit right then, one that sent a shiver up his spine. _"My God, what about Al! Will he be able to find me?" _He remembered all the Leaps before when his only communication as himself to anyone was Al, and how Al had always been there to help him, no matter what the cost was. It was Al who had kept the Project up; Al who has been his lifeline to his home. As Sam thought more about it, he realized that these strange circumstances had reminded him, even more than usual, how much he missed home. Taking a deep breath and putting such thoughts aside, Sam focused instead on Carter and her progress.

Carter, in the meantime, had tried to make any sort of contact to the outside world, but the radio was acting strange. Instead of picking up any kind of signal, no matter how vague, all she could receive was static. _"This is not good,"_ she thought as she fiddled with her radio, _"I have no idea where we are or even if we're still on Earth. The beam could have transported us to another world."_ A low frequency hum caused Carter to almost smile. "Okay, that was definitely a byproduct of radio waves which means that more than likely we're still on Earth. She glanced up to tell Jack the good news, but was stopped at the strange sight before her. "W_hat is going on with the Colonel? He acts like he's trying to read the writings on the wall or something. He's been acting strange ever since we got here." _With everything that they had been through together, Carter knew the mannerisms and personality of Jack better than himself, and right now her gut was telling her that something was not right.


	4. Al Meets Jack

Author's Notes: Thanks to all who have reviewed it; I'm sorry for the technical faults that the past postings had, and thanks to those who have called me on them. Also, a big thanks to the positive feedback on the way the story is progressing. I hope the following chapters will live up to these wonderful words.

* * *

"DanielJackson, what is going on?" Teal'c said as he ran into the room. "I saw a flash of bright light come from this room."

"I was working on translating part of the ancient text when a light came down from the ceiling and landed on Sam. Jack tried to push her out of the way and then the light disappeared and they both were gone. I think that somehow someone triggered a kind of transportation beam to activate."

The recent years of exotic alien encounters, Goul'd technology, and constant surprises had caused Teal'c and Daniel to almost accept the strange and unusual events as everyday occurrences.

"Why do you believe this?"

"Well, judging from the text that I have translated so far, I think that the light was some sort of beaming device. Where have they gone I don't know, but the writings on the wall refer to a light pouring down upon the inhabitants of the pyramids and of them disappearing and reappearing the same way. This must mean that somehow the trigger to the beam is here in the room, we just have to find it.

"Perhaps O'Neil or CaptainCarter triggered the device?"

"That's possible, but without knowing anything about the language or the symbols, I don't see how someone could stumble on it accidentally. Let me see if the rest of the translation can give me a clue. Meanwhile, can you let General Hammond know what's going on?"

"Indeed, DanielJackson."

* * *

As Al opened the observation room door and entered the area, Jack looked over and almost laughed. If the situation hadn't been so serious or disconcerting, Jack would have bet good money that the person coming into the room was either a professional clown or his blind friend chose his clothes. Al was sporting a bright red silk collard long sleeved shirt with bold strokes of purple slashing across each other. The dark brown corduroy pants did little to tone down the white and black alligator shoes he was wearing. This plus the fact that the object in this man's hand in which he was typing and smacking looked like a rejected Game Boy brought some small piece of humor into the situation. Jack could not help but let his initial thoughts flow from his mouth.

"What happened, you lose a bet! Those have got to be the worst clothes I've ever seen a person wear in my life!"

Al looked down at his outfit. "I'll have you know that these threads cost me a pretty penny." He looked back at the handlink for a second more, and then looked at Jack. "Hi, I'm Al. I don't suppose you want to tell me your name, do you?"

"Um, no, since I'm being held by Ronald McDonald's talentless brother in an insane asylum, I don't feel like talking much. Maybe you can tell me what's going on and we can take it from there." Recovering a little from his initial shock of Al's clothing, Jack's sarcasm was kicking in_. "Okay, I'm definitely not being held by the Goul'd, and this is not the NID's style, but no doctor I have ever heard of dresses like that, so where the hell am I!"_

"Maybe it would be better if you can tell me the last thing you remember," offered Al.

"No way clown man, I'm not saying anything until I know what's going on. Where is the rest of my team? Where precisely am I?"

"Well, you're in a facility located underground in New Mexico. That's all I can pretty much tell you right now, but we do need your help. Um, basically you have switched places with a friend of ours, and we need your help to get him back." Al hoped that this truthful pleading could perhaps gain the confidence of their guest. "Can you at least tell me your name."

"New Mexico?" Jack's brain was trying to get a grasp on the situation. "Look, the last thing I remember is walking through a forest, and then I end up here. Until you can tell me exactly what is going on, like what friend you are talking about and where the rest of my people are, you get nothing from me."

Al, used to this kind of response from difficult guests, tried one more approach. "Okay, that's fair, but can you answer a simple question? What year is it?"

Jack was taken aback by this simple inquiry. "Um, last time I checked, bub, it was 1998, and as far as what you can call me…my friends call me Jack; you can call me nothing at all until I get some answers here."

"Okay, Jack, are you hungry? Would you like something to eat, or maybe a book to read? I'm going to check on something and see about getting you back to where you belong." Al smacked the handlink again as he imputed some information for Ziggy to process. The handlink whined and beeped in protest to the abuse. "We have coffee and some soft drinks around, and some okay cafeteria food."

"Well, if I'm trapped here, a big cup of coffee, black, and some Asprin would help a lot."

"Alright, I'll see that it gets here pronto."

Jack, confused about his current situation, watched Al walk out of the room into what looked like a plain white hallway. What had happened to him? Where was his team? Were they also being held somewhere in this place? This guy, Al, didn't seem that bad, but what did he mean when he said Jack and his friend had switched places? _"Maybe it's just a dream and I'm going to wake up soon,"_ he thought as he waited for his coffee_. "Or maybe I really have finally snapped."_


	5. Discovery

Author's Note: I promise that I will finish this story, but I might only post a chapter a week, as grad school does take up much of my time. Again, thanks for all the reviews, and enjoy Chapter 5.

* * *

"Sir, I'm pretty sure we're still on Earth, but I can't determine anything other than that. I think the structure is having a dampening effect on our radios."

Sam, from the accumulated stress of finding himself in one strange situation after another on this Leap, replied with an uncharacteristic sarcasm. "Okay, Carter, what do you suggest we do; call for help and hope someone is still around in here?"

"I'm not sure, sir, but I'm thinking that if we search the perimeter, maybe we can find something to tell us where we are, or even better, a way out."

"Um, okay Carter, lead the way." _"Where did that remark come from? Maybe more than usual of Jack's personality stayed behind."_

As Carter entered the doorway a hall became visible which led both left and right. Trying not to be too obvious, Sam desperately tried to read more of the writing on the hallway wall to see if he could gain a clue as to where they were. The hieroglyphs directly across from the room translated into directions, which Sam could only make partial sense out of. _"Storage Room One, left, Embark Room, right, Recreational Area, left…hmm, I wonder where they are embarking to?"_

Carter, in the meanwhile, was heading left.

"Carter, why don't we go right?"

Startled, Carter turned around and looked at Sam. "Okay, sir, we can go right, but might I ask why?"

"Um, because… because I thought I saw something down there."

"What kind of something, sir? A light? A person?"

"I…I think I heard a sound, so I think we should go investigate it."

"_The Colonel is definitely not acting right."_ "Okay, sir, after you."

As they walked down the corridor, Sam was distracted by the ancient text. Carter, seeing this peculiar action, was even more aware that something was up with Jack. _"I'm not sensing the presence of a Goul'd, so Jack can't be a host, but then what is it? Maybe the beam did something to him, but no, he was acting different before."_

Before she could finish her train of though, they both found the end of the hallway. An open doorway led into a chamber about the size of the base cafeteria. There were no other exits from the room, and the golden walls reflected the light from their flashlights onto the only thing located in the room; an empty platform and a DHD.

Carter, excited about the prospects of their find, started to head towards the DHD. "Look, a DHD…and no Stargate! Where could it have gone? Why would anyone leave the DHD and take the Stargate?

Confused, Sam started to walk towards Carter and the DHD. Whatever the Stargate was, Sam could see that the empty platform probably use to be related to it. _"Maybe I can get a sense of what's going on if I can peek at that…what did she call it…a DHD."_

As Sam was heading to meet Carter, a bright light in the shape of a door appeared in front of him, and Al walked into the room. Almost running into Al, Sam suddenly stopped. Carter, being too interested in the DHD, didn't notice this odd behavior.

"Sam, it's you! Finally! Gooshie, we got him, hold it right there." Al's voice had an echo to it, and his image was slightly off color. "Sam, you have no idea how hard it's been to find you. Ziggy went on strike for a few hours, muttering something about how u were here and then you weren't. Our visitor wasn't much help, either. She finally calmed down enough to do some calculations. Sam, do you realize that that crazy computer is saying you are shifted from the normal space time? Ever so slightly, she insists, but it's enough to make a connection twice as difficult as normal. I swear; that computer is going wacko!"

Looking up from the DHD, Carter saw Sam looking at thin air with an odd expression of relief and tension on his face. "Sir? Sir, are you okay," she asked again.

"Fine, Carter, um, I think I heard something in the corridor. I'm going to go check it out. Let me know if you find something."

"Yes, sir."

Sam walked back into the empty hallway with Al behind him. Once he was far enough away from the DHD room, Sam turned to his best friend. "Al, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but it's good to finally see a friendly face in all this insanity. They're talking about other planets and mother ships and things that belong on television. Do you know what year this is suppose to be?

"Well, I haven't gotten much information from our guest, and Ziggy is still trying to compensate for whatever is making it hard to contact you, but from what I have gotten so far, the year is 1998, and your name is Jack."

Yea, Al, I got all that. I'm also some kind of soldier. What I don't know is how I got here, and where here is. Ask Ziggy what exactly here readings are?" Sam had a notion about what the beam did, but he wanted to confirm it with Ziggy before he said something that would make his friend believe he was as crazy as Ziggy."

"She says that you have been pushed to a slightly different section of space-time, not enough to do any harm, but enough that it makes it harder for us to contact you. I'm telling you, she's gone out to lunch or something. What does she mean your not in our space-time?"

"Al, I know this sounds incredible, but stay with me. I think some kind of alien device might have pushed me and Carter into this skewed space-time. When we were in the pyramid room, this blue light beam landed on Carter and me, and the next thing we know we're here. Maybe 'here' is another part of the pyramid that exists in the same space-time that we do now because of the beam." The ramifications of what had occurred appealed to the quantum physicist, and Al could see the excitement in his friend.

Carter, wanting to keep tabs on her comrade, had in the meantime left the room and headed back towards Sam. She turned off her light when she saw Sam standing in the hallway, talking to himself. Watching in the dark, she could hear the conversation and see from Sam's light that he was facing thin air while he talked about concepts that Jack would have no knowledge of.

Positive that this person was not Jack, Carter drew her gun and advanced towards Sam.

"Hands in the air."

"Carter, what's going on?"

"Hand in the air, _now_!"

"Sam, the hot blond is not joking around; do it."

"Okay, Carter, whatever you say, but what's going on?"

As she approached Sam he could see stark determination in her face. As the realization that she heard what he and Al had been saying struck him, Sam raced to try to find a good answer for the questions that were about to come.


	6. Eureka

Author's Note: What wonderful people you are! A big grin to all for their kind words. This next installment is a great lighter segment of the story. I'm fighting a head cold right now, so please let me know if there are any technical errors. Thanks!

* * *

Daniel wiped his brow as he studied the ancient text. It had been at least an hour since Jack and Sam disappeared, but nothing on the wall had as of yet told him any information as to where they had gone or what had done it.

"Can I be of any assistance, DanielJackson?" Teal'c, with his calming stoic presence, stood at the doorway. He was starting to worry about his friends. With his exile from his homeworld, Teal'c had come to need the support and friendship of his teammates, and he would do anything to ensure their safety.

"Not really, Teal'c." Daniel stood and stretched his legs. "All the writing had told me is the same thing; these beings were old and good and wise, and they possessed magic of different kinds; healing, weapons, divination. I've already gone through half of this text, and still have found nothing out of the ordinary or unique enough to insinuate a trigger device."

"I have just reported back to GeneralHammond. He says he is sending SG teams 3 and 4 to help with the search, along with several specialists in ancient languages. They should arrive in about two hours."

"I don't know if we have that long, Teal'c. I don't know where they have gone, or what, if anything, is there waiting for them."

Daniel walked over to the other side of the room and casually looked at the wall, hoping that maybe something would jump out at him. Noticing that his shoelace was untied, he bent down to fix it.

"_Jonah the worker smells like a camel. You gotta love those worker's sense of humor,"_ he read at the bottom of the wall as he tied his shoelace. Standing back up to resume his translation efforts, something on the wall caught his eye.

"Teal'c, maybe you can help. Come over here and look at this word. Does it look wrong to you?"

Teal'c joined Daniel at the wall. "I am not familiar with the spelling of this word on Earth, but indeed on Chu'lac this word would have one too many letters. For such a common word it is odd that it would be misspelled."

"After all the careful attention to detail that I've seen so far, this can't be an accident. Only the high priests would have access to this room, much less know how to write, so I'm guessing this must be the trigger. Teal'c, you go inform General Hammond the situation while I see how to activate it."

"Be careful, DanielJackson, I do not want to come back to an empty room."

"I will."

* * *

"Hey, did someone forget to bring me some coffee? Where did that Bozo the Clown reject run off to?"

As Gooshie and Beeks watched from the annex, Jack started to pace the floor.

"So, who's going to bring him coffee?" Beeks looked at Gooshie.

"Don't look at me; I'm just a programmer. You're the doctor." Beeks could see the nervousness in Gooshie's eyes.

"All right, I'll bring him coffee; maybe he'll respond better to a female."

Beeks walked out of the room and towards the cafeteria. She touched a special watch that doubled as a communication device to Ziggy.

"Ziggy, can you please alert security that I'm going to need an escort when I enter the observation room."

"Affirmative Doctor. May I suggest also that you bring our guest something to eat. Humans tend to get grumpy when malnourished." Her sultry female voice and astute suggestion made Beeks smile. _"Why did Dr. Beckett make Ziggy the way he did is beyond me."_

"I will, Ziggy, thanks."

* * *

Jack stood up as the door opened. Thinking that this might be the time to try an escape, Jack switched the position of his body, preparing to spring onto whoever came through the door. An older black woman and a very big man stepped into the room, and judging from the mass of the man, Jack concluded he would have no chance. _"He reminds me of someone...a big black man with a snake in his stomach. What was his name again…wait, why can't I remember his name!"_

"Hello, Jack, I believe you wanted a black coffee and some Asprin." Beeks held out a styrofoam cup and some pills. I took the liberty of also bringing you a sandwich. Are you felling any better?"

Jack sat back on the bed, not moving. "Yeah, I'm just peachy. What happened to Mr. McDonald, I didn't scare him off with my charming personality, did I?"

Beeks placed the goodwill offerings on the end of the bed. "Al is attending to other matters at the moment. My name is Dr. Verbenna Beeks. If you need something else while you're here please let us know."

"Us…you don't mean Mr. Friendly here with you, do you?"

Beeks looked at the security guard and smiled. "No, I mean me or my staff. Is there anything else you need right now?"

"Yea, I need to get out of here. Think you could help me with that one?"

"Sorry, Jack, not right now, but I assure you that we are doing everything in our power to get you back to where you came from. If you could just tell us some information about what you can remember it might speed up the process."

"Sorry, Doctor, can't do that."

"Well, like I said, if you need anything let us know."

As Beeks started to leave the room, Jack reached for the coffee and started thinking about his friends again. "What was his name again? I want to call him Murry, but I know that's not it. Tommy? Timmy? Teal…no, that's a color. Dammit, why can't I remember!"


	7. Expose

Author's Note: I am very sorry indeed for the great time lapse between my last post and this one. I was sick…again…which is no fun, and then school got in the way, but now it is Spring Break and I hope to make up for it. A shout out to my friend Dee (cripeswolf) for staying on my butt about updating my story. Enjoy everyone!

* * *

"Who are you?"

Sam raced to think of anything to say. He knew that Carter was smart, very smart, and he couldn't think of anything he could say that could explain his behavior. "Carter, who do you think I am? I'm your superior officer, and I'm ordering you to put that gun down."

Carter's voice was authoritative and stern. "I don't believe that you're the Colonel. Where's Jack and who were you talking to?"

Al's expression reflected his feelings. "Sam, I know you want to tell her the truth, but there's no way in hell she's going to believe the story you got."

Sam looked at his friend, back at Carter and her gun aiming at his chest, and made a decision. "Al, I gotta tell her the truth, and I think after everything I've seen she of all people would believe me."

"Who are you talking to? Who sent you to impersonate an Air Force officer? Answer me!" The tone in Carter's voice told Sam that she was running out of patience.

"Look, you don't have to be afraid, I'm not here to steal secrets or anything like that. You're right, I'm not Colonel Jack O'Neil. My name is Dr. Sam Beckett, and as far as what I'm doing here and why I look like your Colonel, well, that's a little complicated."

Tying to grasp the situation, Sam's thoughts raced. _"What is going on? Where did THAT come from?"_ A response that Jack was implanted with a Goul'd or that somehow one of the Tok'ra took him over she was almost expecting, or that possibly this was an alien being inhabiting the Colonel's body, but for the response from the imposter to sound entirely human and for him to refer to himself as a doctor led Carter to believe that this was nothing that she or her team members had ever experienced before. "Where's Jack? What have you done to him?"

"Jack is fine, he'll be back soon, I promise. Please believe me, you have nothing to fear. I am not entirely sure why I ended up here, honestly. I will tell you everything if you could just put the gun down."

"Sorry, Doctor, I can't do that. You better just start explaining."

"Okay, Carter, but what I'm about to say will sound absurd and crazy, but believe me, everything about it is the truth."

As Sam went on to explain who he was and his time travel experiment, Carter, distracted by the incredible story, started to lower her weapon. With all the incredible things that she had witnessed and experienced firsthand, it was almost outlandish to think that another branch of the government had an equally crazy and incredible experiment going on. At the mention of Al, Carter looked around to room.

"There's no one here but you and me, Doctor."

"I know you can't see him, because he's tuned into the neurons and mesons in my brain, but trust me, he's here." An idea dawned on Sam, and in his excitement he almost forget about the gun. "I even know how to prove it! I know this might sound childish, but hold up a number of fingers behind your back where I can't see them, and I can tell you what they are."

Carter thought for a moment, and decided to go along with this fiasco, if only to see if Jack was hallucinating or if something real was going on. She shifted her weapon, still drawn, to her right arm and wrapped her left arm around her back.

"Oh, great, I'm doing parlor tricks now. I see how I rank in your world." Al, somewhat offended but happy to get closer to the hot scientist, walked around to Carter's back. "It's better than being dragged to the bathroom every time I come and see you. Oh, Sam, if only you could see her beautiful firm…" As Sam gave Al an exasperated look, Al stopped and regrouped. "…fingers, nice beautiful fingers. Okay, Sam, she has three fingers up."

"You are showing three fingers."

As Carter kept switching her number, Al called out the new amount to Sam.

"Two. Now all five. Now four. Now none."

At every correct number, Carter was more and more convinced that something was occurring, and apart from the imposter reading her mind, the idea that an invisible hologram from the future could actually be looking at her back was, however incredible, almost plausible given the rest of the imposter's story. A well known quote she heard once ran through her head. "If all the other options have been exhausted, then whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be in fact the truth."

"Okay, so somehow you are either reading my mind, or you can see behind me, or there is a hologram behind me, but that doesn't prove anything, it just tells me that something is going on." _What am I suppose to do now? I can't dial the Stargate because I don't have an energy source, the DHD didn't have power in it. Contact with base has failed_… As Sam raced through her options, she came to a conclusion, although it wasn't one that she was very comfortable with.

"Alright, Doctor, here's the situation. We are stuck here unless we find a way out or my teammates find a way in. I think our way out of here is to go through the same way we came in. So, we are going to head back down the hallway and into that room we were in. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Carter."

Carter backed away from Sam, and Sam turned to walk back towards the room where they had been first beamed into. As he walked, he tried to communicate with his friend who walked beside him. Attempting to pull the double meaning communication he had grown accustomed to over the years, he spoke as he looked directly at Al.

"So, Carter, tell me, what kind of scientist are you."

"Just keep walking, Doctor, we're almost there." Carter didn't want to start chatting with a potential Goul'd, or even worse, a spy from NID.

Al, getting the hint, tapped the handlink a few times and started to get some information from Ziggy. "It looks like Captain Carter is an astrophysicist, and apparently a brilliant one. She worked on several prestigious projects before she ends up shy….shy?" With this Al banged the handlink several times, and after several squeals of protest from the handlink, he looked again at his screen. "Oh, at Cheyenne Mountain. Check out this cover story Sam, apparently she's working on some deep space telemetry or something. That's rich, huh? You would think the military would come up with something better than that. Hey, I wonder what our cover story is Sam…Sam?"

Not paying attention to his friend for several minutes, Sam saw his chance to maybe convince Carter what he was saying was true.

"So, Carter, what is your opinion on the existence of quarks in a subatomic plane? I personally believe that they transfer their kinetic energy to the neutrons they exist in, but I know astrophysicists usually hold a different theory."

Shocked by what Sam had said but trying not to let on, Carter slowed down but continued to walk with Sam in front of her and her gun drawn. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course you do. After all, you are an astrophysicists, and that's why the Air Force would pick you to be involved in their top secret operation masquerading as deep space analysis. I bet we have even heard of each other. Do you remember a Sam Beckett, boy genius, graduated MIA in his early teens back in the 60's? My specialty was quantum physics."

As Sam said this, the room came into reach of their flashlights from the dark hallway. Trying to ignore what Sam had said, Carter did not respond to Sam, but instead using the tip of her gun tapped Sam's back to tell him to enter the room.

As they entered the golden room once more, Carter looked for a place to put the imposter.

"Alright Doctor, why don't you take a seat over in the far right hand corner."

"Carter, I can help you if you let me. I'm really just a scientist caught up in his research. We have a lot in common."

"Just sit there and let me figure this out."

As Sam sat Indian style in the corner, Carter's mind was racing with a thousand thoughts. _Beckett…I remember a Dr. Beckett. He wrote the defining work on the interaction between particle waves and quarks back a few years ago. I don't remember what happened to him after that though. This can't be true; it's too wild for even our line of work. Okay Sam, just concentrate on the hieroglyphs and see if they let on where the activation switch is for the beam._

As Sam sat there and tried to think of other ways to convince Carter, Al gave an exasperated sigh and looked at Sam. "Sam, I just hope you know what you're doing."

Suddenly, a blue light shot down from the ceiling, causing Carter to dive out of its way and almost squishing Sam as he tried to break her fall as best he could.


	8. Meeting

Author's Note: For those following my progress, I have completely finished Chapter 7, and here is Chapter 8. A big thanks for your patience.

* * *

As Teal'c walked back to the hieroglyphics room, Daniel was waiting on him with a hopeful look on his face.

"Teal'c, I think I've found how to work it. If you put pressure on the extra letter, the beam activates."

"This is very good, DanielJackson, but, do you know how to come back?"

A worried look crossed Daniel's face, but instantly vanished. "I think the return activator will be at the other side. If our hypothesis is right, this should just take us to another part of the pyramid. Have you told General Hammond about our situation?"

"Indeed, DanielJackson. I have also brought our packs in anticipation of our trip."

"Good. Okay, you need to stand in the center of the room, and I'm going to activate the beam and jump in. Ready?"

Teal'c gave Daniel a short nod, and Daniel pressed the activator letter. A blue light shot down from the ceiling, and Daniel leaped into the area with Teal'c. _"I hope I'm right about getting all of us back,"_ was Daniel's last thought as he faded into nothing and the room was empty once more.

* * *

As the blue light faded, Sam and Carter saw two men materialize in front of them. Recognizing her teammates, Carter quickly ran over to help them get off the floor. Sam took this opportunity to stay in the background. _"If I don't try anything, then they might believe me more easily."_ As Al stood beside him, Sam whispered quickly under the noise of the others. "Al, I need you to go talk to Ziggy some more and see if you can get a better idea of what's going on and why I'm here. But hey, don't be too long, okay? I really need you to come back and help me." With these last words, Sam's face briefly showed worry and concern, and at that moment Al would have given anything in order to bring his friend back home.

Hiding his strong feelings, Al breathed in quickly and said "Wild dogs couldn't keep me away, buddy. You just hang in there and ol' Al will help ya out of this." With that, Al accessed the Imaging Chamber door and was gone. Teal'c, believing that the sudden bright white light and equally sudden disappearance of it was perhaps a visual hallucination caused by the alien technology, shook his head once to clear his sight and refocused on the room.

With the distraction of her teammates beaming in over, Carter quickly remembered what was going on, and drawing back from her friends, trained her gun once again onto Sam. As the daze quickly faded, Daniel and Teal'c were shocked to see Carter behaving this way.

"Sam, what is going on! Why are you pointing a gun at Jack?" Concerned that his friend had somehow been adversely affected by the beaming process or something inside the pyramid, he ran in front of Carter, blocking her view of Sam.

"Daniel, that is not the Colonel over there; it's an imposter."

Daniel, startled by this reply, turned and looked at Sam. "Well, he looks like Jack. Are you sure?"

"Daniel, he says his name is Dr. Beckett and that he's from a secret government experiment in the future, and that he somehow switched bodies or something with our Colonel."

Teal'c and Daniel stood there for a few seconds, trying to absorb this strange story. "Um, okay, why don't we all calm down a second and see what's going on." Daniel took a few steps towards Sam, now standing near the corner of the room.

"Jack?"

"Hi."

"Hi, Jack, are you really you."

"_How am I suppose to respond to that? Do I say yes, and then have them grill me on questions I can't answer?" _Deciding that honesty was his best shot, Sam loudly sighed before responding. "No, I'm not Jack, Daniel. Carter's telling you the truth. My real name is Sam."

Taken aback, Daniel tried to regroup. "Well, THAT wasn't the answer I was looking for!"

* * *

As Al left the Imaging Chamber, he stopped at The Observation Room annex briefly to check on their visitor. Jack was sitting back in the hospital bed, watching what looked like old Simpson reruns. _"I hope he's enjoying himself while Sam is out there literally at gunpoint saving his neck."_ Sighing, he left the annex and went down the wall to the Control room. Inside, a huge blue round sphere with electrical current running from it to the multi-colored square panels beneath it were humming like normal, confirming that Ziggy was running normally. Al stepped up to the control panel in front of the sphere and addressed the computer. "Okay, Ziggy, I have some more information that I need you to run. Jack said the year was 1998, so that's about 2 years from now." Al paused as he realized the ramifications of that statement. "My God, that's the closest Sam has ever Leaped to the present!"

"Indeed it is, Admiral Calavicci. If you could please provide me with what information you have, I will see about extrapolating the reason as to why Dr. Beckett has Leaped to this place and time.

Sorry, Ziggy, okay. Jack's full name is Colonel Jack O'Neil. There's a cute blond he's with, and from what Sam called her all I got was Carter, but her rank is lower than a Colonel. They both are in the Air Force, but beyond that, all I have is a feeling that this Leap is going to be very different from the rest. Sam was very excited about something, and I'm note sure if he was making sense or not at the time; he said something about mother ships and other planets and he insisted that some alien device had pushed him out of whatever you called it."

"Space-time, Admirial Calavicci."

There was silence for a few seconds, and Al hoped that he hadn't somehow offended Ziggy again. He almost jumped when she spoke again.

"I have predicted a 86.9 percent chance for the reason Dr. Beckett has Leaped into Colonel Jack O'Neil."

Ziggy then paused, as if she was waiting to be asked. Shaking his head at the wonders of Ziggy's ego, Al took the bait. "Okay, Ziggy, can you please tell me why Sam is there." He wanted to grad a hold of some of Ziggy's microchips and start popping them off one by one, but he knew any further agitation to her would only result in a delay of information, and that was not something he was willing to risk at this time.

"Well, Admiral, the initial tracking pinpointed Sam as being in the vicinity of Idaho on March 15, 1998. As I tracked him, his readings became suddenly erratic, resulting in the difficulty from before." At the mention of her previous behavior, Ziggy's voice almost had a defensive quality to it. "After compensating for the unusual interference and providing contact once again between you and Dr. Beckett, I performed detailed research on the interference and have determined that indeed Dr. Beckett is located in a slightly altered space-time field. I cannot determine the technology to perform such a task, but I can say with certainty that only the same technology can restore Dr. Beckett to normal space time. Also, taken into account the recent research I have performed on Colonel O'Neil and Captain Carter, I can determine that they are in fact not working on deep space, but on something very top secret, which is why it is taking longer to access the files. I can estimate with some certainty given the odd circumstances, though, that Dr. Beckett has entered this situation in order to ensure the safe return of his host and whoever is with him.

Al's mood towards Ziggy went from murderous to less aggravated, but still not happy. "Well, Ziggy, last time I left Sam, he had a gun pointed at him and was getting the third degree from our visitor's teammates, so as soon as you have any idea about what is really going on let me know right away.

"Affirmative, Admiral."

* * *

Endnote: Did anyone catch the cool foreshadowing there? Sorry, had to ring my own bell kinda thing because I was so excited when I thought of it! 


	9. More and More Interesting

Author's Note: See, I'm trying to make up for my absence, so I put up 2 chapters this week. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Jack looked up from the television when the door from the hallway opened. Al, distracted by the handlink, barley noticed Jack's surprised look. Turning off the television, Jack looked at Al.

"Well, look who decided to come back. How's the sideshow going? Did the bearded lady show up yet?

Not in the mood for jokes, Al just looked at his handlink and then back at Jack. "Look, I'm no happier about you being here than you are about being here. We are trying our best to get you back to where you came from, but in the meantime, I would really appreciate it if you could lay off the jokes and maybe help us out. I've received some more information about what is going on, but I need your help to piece together some of it. I know that you are part of some sort of top secret Air Force team, and a Captain Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist, is on your team, and the date is March 15, 1998, but other than that, I don't really know anything."

"_Wow, if they're really Goul'd then they should know more than that by now. Even the NID knows more than that. Why don't these people even know their basics?"_ Hiding the fact that he was surprised at the level of information Al had, Jack smiled and responded. "Sorry, Al was it, I can't confirm nor deny such information. A top secret thing, you understand."

"Would it that we have top secret clearance?"

"Not really, because as far as I'm concerned, I don't even know that you're really human."

Trying to keep Jack talking and happy to return some sarcasm, Al quickly responded. "If I'm not human, then what would I be, Jack? An alien?"

"_Crap, I need to learn to just keep my mouth shut sometimes and let things go. Yea, right, like that's gonna happen."_ Looking at Al again, Jack tried to recover. "I dunno, I was just saying, you know, like an example of how I can't say anything because I don't know what's going on."

Content that Jack had inadvertently given some credence to what information Sam had given him, Al decided that Jack probably would never tell them anything, so he should get back to Sam and see if he needed anything. "Okay, Jack, well, do you need anything before I go? Something to eat? Some more Simpson episodes?

"Yea, I would like to get the hell outta here."

Al smiled at Jack's persistence. In some cases, Jack reminded Al of himself. "Sorry, Jack, no can do."

"Ah well, gotta keep asking though, huh? I could really go for some lunch though. I don't know what time it is, but it feels like I haven't eaten in a long time."

"That can be arranged, just let Beek's staff know what you want and they'll bring it to you."

With that, Al turned and left the room. Jack, trying to concentrate on what was really bothering him, hardly took the time to see if escape was possible. _"Okay, My name is Jack. I'm part of a team called SG-1. My teammates are…Daniel…..Daniel what? Okay, Jack, just keep going. Daniel, Carter, and…and…dammit! What have these creeps done to me!"

* * *

_

"So you claim your part of a time travel experiment that "leaps" you from person to person in order to help them somehow make their lives better, and you happened to "leap" into Jack while we were walking in the woods."

Sam looked at Daniel. "Yes, and I have been trying to figure out why I'm here, but the smart Captain figured out I wasn't Jack about oh, say five minutes ago, which doesn't make my task any easier at all."

Carter and Daniel exchanged looks. By this time they both knew their facial expressions so well that they didn't have to say what they were thinking.

"Teal'c, could you please watch the Doctor for a second."

"Indeed, DanielJackson."

With that, Teal'c drew his Zat gun and stood in the middle of the room. Carter and Daniel stepped out of the room and into the empty hallway. With only their flashlights as light, their figures cast ghostly shadows into the darkness. Carter was the first to speak.

"Daniel, I don't know what kind of threat we have here. I haven't sensed a Goul's presence the whole time, and Teal'c hasn't said anything either, so I think we can rule out that factor. He could be a spy for the NID, but I swear there's something odd about all this. He said he had a hologram from the future that visited him, and he tried to prove it to me."

"How did he try to prove his identity?"

Carter was a little embarrassed as to what she was about to say. "Well, I held up fingers behind my back and he was suppose to guess how many. He said his hologram friend could see them and tell him how many he had." She quickly went on to decrease the silliness of her statement. "But Daniel, he was right every time. I don't know if he was reading my mind or if he really did have someone else in the room, one thing's for sure, though, that is not Jack in there."

Daniel paused for a moment to absorb this information and to analyze the situation. "Well, our main problem is getting back to base camp. Once we get there we can take him back with us to SG headquarters and figure it out there, but for now we need to just watch him. Has he been violent in any way?

"No, he hasn't done anything to indicate he's hostile. But there's another thing, Daniel. I know this sounds hard to believe, and trust me, I think his story is pretty unbelievable, but he says his name is Dr. Sam Beckett. And that he's a quantum physicist. Well, I almost remember an essay done by a Dr. Beckett a few years ago. A brilliant work from what I can recall. Now what are the chances that a spy or an alien would know a small detail like that?

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know, Sam, but let's just concentrate on how to get back and we'll figure it out then. Have you had a chance to explore this place yet?"

"Yes, we went right to a room that holds a Stargate, but no DHD and no means to power it. I was just about to take the hallway in the opposite direction when, well, you know."

"Okay, I don't think we need to split up at this point, so I think we should work on translating the hieroglyphs here in this room while Teal'c watches Jack…or whoever."

As Carter and Daniel entered the room, Sam couldn't help himself. "Your very stoic and strong friend here has been just peachy at the whole conversation thing." Again, the uncharacteristic mannerism shocked Sam himself, and he quickly apologized. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from. Sometimes when I leap I take on some of the characteristics of who I have leaped into. Jack isn't really sarcastic, is he?"

Holding back their responses in case Sam was a spy, Daniel and Carter couldn't help but be surprised at his statement. Teal'c, following the examples of his friends, refrained from commenting.

Carter, taking the imitative, looked at Sam. "Okay, Doctor, we need to figure out how to get out of here, so you and Teal'c are going to wait out in the hallway area while Daniel and I decipher the text."

"I think I can help you if you let me. I speak several languages and can read hieroglyphs. Maybe I can help in the translation."

Daniel spoke up. "No, Doctor, it's okay. All we need to do is find the trigger device and we should be right back from where we came from."

Sam, somewhat disappointed that he couldn't help, walked past the members of Sg-1 and went into the hallway area. Teal'c, still holding the Zat gun in his hand, followed. As Daniel and Carter started to work on the translation, Sam slid against the hallway wall and came to rest at the floor. He crossed his legs and sat while Teal'c took up residence at the opposite side of the wall. Looking up at the strong, stoic figure of Teal'c standing in the shadows, Sam was glad that he was not on the opposing side of this imposing person. _"I'd hate to meet him in a dark alley."_

Fifteen minutes went by, with no sounds except Daniel and Carter moving about in the room, and occasionally comparing notes. Sam started to get hungry, but the sudden bright light in the hallway distracted him from his stomach. As Al walked through the Imaging Chamber door and into the hallway, Teal'c took a quick step back and drew his Zat gun. Sam's happiness to see his best friend was quickly overshadowed by the reaction of Teal'c to Al.


	10. Seeing is Believing?

Author's Note: Sorry again for taking such a long time to post again, but school is finally over for a few weeks, so I can get back to doing what I want to do. Kudos again to my friend DeAnna for staying on my butt and making me finish this story.

* * *

As Teal'c stood with his weapon drawn, Al walked into an unusual situation. Stopping just short of running into Teal'c, Al's surprised expression mixed with Teal'cs determined grimace ensured that the situation had made another turn for the strange and unusual.

Teal'c was the first to regain his composure. "CaptainCarter, DanielJackson!"

"Sam…" yelled Al in his unique, almost whining way. "Sam, what is going on! Can this big lug see me? Hey, He-Man, can you see me?" As Al waved his arms around, it was apparent from Teal'c's confusion that something was visible. As Daniel and Carter rounded the corner and entered the hallway, Teal'c zat gun was raised and pointed at Al.

"Teal'c, what's going on?" Carter asked as she reached for her weapon.

Teal'c, weapon raised, addressed his friend. "CaptainCarter, do you not see the man standing in front of me?"

Carter and Daniel, confused, moved closer to Teal'c. As Carter answered, Sam moved out of the way of the group, edging along the wall towards Al. Several thoughts ran through his mind. "_Why can Teal'c see Al? Can he hear Al? Maybe this can finally prove to them my story._"

Teal'c, in the meantime, was still conversing with his friends. "DanielJackson, do you not see the man standing before me in the strange clothes?"

Daniel peered into the space before Teal'c and then into the darkness that was present a few feet beyond the range of their flashlights. "I don't see anything Teal'c. What exactly do you see?"

"There is a man standing in front of me, holding a cigar and what appears to be a communication device."

Al, a little annoyed and worried that Teal'c could see him, tried to get Teal'c to answer his question. "Hey, big guy, can you hear me? Hello?" Al turned and looked at Sam. "Sam, I don't think he can hear me. Why can he see me?"

"Doctor, are you responsible for what Teal'c is talking about? Is your friend here?"

Sam, torn between responding to both of the questions, addressed Carter first. "Yes, Carter, my friend is here and standing in front of Teal'c. I don't know why he can see Al, but apparently he can't hear him. I am who I say I am, Carter, please believe me."

Daniel and Carter, still unsure about their visitor, looked at each other.

"Doctor, let me and Daniel try to get us all back to base first before anything else. You said you could read hieroglyphs, right? Well, why don't you and Teal'c come back with us and we can all take separate sections of the room." "_At least if he's telling the truth, he could always help us get back faster. And if he isn't, at least this way we all can keep a closer eye on him, especially considering the fact that something is around that neither Daniel or I can see, and since there's nothing we have found that could give him any more information than he already knows…_"

Usually Carter would be convinced of Sam's sincerity by now, but the abduction of Colonel O'Neill was something too close to her heart to let her start trusting who she considered his captor just yet, no matter what her brain told her.

Teal'c, not quite yet convinced that Al wasn't standing in front of him, took his zat gun and waived it through Al.

"Hey, pal, watch it, or I'll…I'll…I'll sick some holographic dogs on ya!" Al started punching instructions into the handlink while he hollered to whoever could hear him. "Gooshie, I don't want this big lug to see me. See if you can modify the signal. I don't care if Ziggy's already compensating for the shift; tell her to compensate some more."

With that, Al's image flickered and fuzzed for a moment, and then stabilized. Teal'c, watching the image, was again alarmed when Al disappeared. "CaptainCarter, the man had disappeared."

"Doctor?"

"Um…my friend had to go back to help stabilize the signal." Still wanting to talk to Al, but not wanting to alarm any of them if he had any bad news, Sam kept Al's recalibrated image to himself.

"Okay Doctor, why don't you take the far back wall. Daniel and I will continue to work on the opposite walls. We're looking for another trigger mechanism like the one that brought us here."

The group turned and walked back into the hieroglyphs room, and as Sam walked to the back wall, Teal'c took his position right next to the hallway door, directly across from Sam. Al, by know attuned to what Sam was thinking almost before he thought it, went and stood next to Sam while he started to translate the text on the wall. Keeping his voice low, and trying to act like he was muttering to himself, Sam spoke. "Al, can you tell me anything new about why I'm here?"

Al, still typing into the handlink and holding his cigar, tried to access Ziggy's interface. "Last time I talked to Ziggy, she said that she was still trying to access the records on Major O'Neill and his team, but she believes that this shift thing, whatever put you here, that the only way to get back is through the same technology, and that you are probably here because the original mission didn't succeed. Ziggy says that it's an 86.9 probability that you are here to do that. Beyond that, she doesn't know how you got shifted or anything else yet. I tried talking to our visitor in the Waiting Room, and besides the fact that he likes coffee and The Simpsons, I got nothing. He is definitely hard core military, though, I can tell."

"Al, I'm only getting every other word of these hieroglyphs, and it could take forever to find a trigger device. See if you can scan the walls into her database and tell her compare them to any known hieroglyphic writings and note any discrepancies in spelling or writing technique. In the meantime, I guess that I can't do anything else but try to get them to trust me."

With this, Al increased his abuse of the handlink, and after a few seconds a red beam shot out from the handlink, broadening into a wide, narrow band. As the light fell across the walls of the room, Al passed it in an orderly fashion across the entire room, moving to get scans of the parts that were blocked by the other people in the room. When he came to stand next to Carter, he couldn't help but glance at her rear end as she stooped next to her section of the wall. Knowing that his friend couldn't respond to him, Al took advantage of the situation, like many times before. "If only _she _could see me…Sam, why is it that blonds never pick me up?"

Sam shot a quick, unapproving glance at Al, completing the almost predictable interaction that kept him sane during his Leaps. As Al completed the scan, he went back to Sam's wall section.

"Let's see, according to Ziggy, the section in front of Dr. Jackson…"

"Sam, I think I found what we're looking for." As Daniel looked over at Carter, it was obvious that he had discovered the exit switch. Carter, Teal'c, and Sam all headed towards Daniel's position, but with a stern look from Teal'c, Sam stopped and stayed against the far wall.

"See Sam, this word here has the owl repeated in the wrong place. It shouldn't be there. I bet that's the trigger device."

Carter, happy that they could finally get back to a familiar place so that they could deal with the Doctor, looked at Teal'c. "Okay, let's gather everything we have here and stand in the center of the room. Doctor, you can come stand next to Teal'c. I'll push the symbol, and as soon as the beaming device shows, I'll jump into it."

Daniel and Teal'c gathered their belongings and stood in the center of the room. Sam, caught up in the quickness of the events, had little time to wonder about what was about to happen as he took his place directly in front of Teal'c.

"We're ready whenever you are Sam."

Carter readied herself to jump into the beam. "One…Two…Three!"


	11. Rescue

Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter…I think it came out very well. Thanks for the continuing remarks!

* * *

General Hammond stood at the entrance to the pyramid, examining SG-1's base camp. The last time he talked with them, he instructed Teal'c to stand down until reinforcements could arrive. It was bad enough that Captain Carter and Colonel O'Neill were missing because of an alien device, but to risk the remainder of SG-1 was unacceptable.

As other SG teams scoured the perimeter of the pyramid and the translation expert worked on the room within the pyramid, General Hammond could not help but feel the same frustration as he felt every time his team was missing. "_I told Teal'c to stand down, and it's not like him to disregard an order, unless something threatened his teammates_." He knew that if Teal'c thought his friends were in trouble, his ultimate loyalty to his teammates would cause him to act against orders. For being a former Jaffa, Teal'c had proven his loyalty many times over. As the other SG teams called in to report, their findings concluded that no trace of the team was to be found, which led General Hammond to believe the most likely scenario; that Teal'c and Dr. Jackson had gone looking for their teammates on their own. "_Knowing them, they'll probably show up on their own too._" This thought did little to comfort his fears and frustration as he made his way towards the pyramid room to check on the status of the translation.

* * *

As Carter pushed the symbol and jumped into the center of the room, nothing happened. After a few seconds, a sound started to emanate from under the feet of the team. As it grew louder, Carter, recognizing the distinctive sound, knew that something was overloading.

"Jump!" was all that she could yell before the floor beneath them exploded. The huge blast sent Carter, Daniel, and Sam into the air and against the far wall, where they landed in a lifeless pile. Teal'c was thrown through the doorway and into the outer hallway, where he was knocked unconscious. Al rushed towards his friend as thick bluish-black smoke poured from the hole in the floor.

"Sam, oh my God! Sam, can you hear me? Sam, wake up! Sam, you gotta get up!" Kneeling down close to Sam, it was apparent to Al that his friend was knocked out cold. The others in the room didn't look any better, and as the black smoke became thicker, Al became even more worried that it was becoming more of a threat than the initial blast was. "Sam, you gotta get out of here!" Looking around for anything that could be of help, Al saw Teal'c through the increasing smoke lying in the hallway. Keeping himself as calm as possible, he thought through a plan to rescue his friend.

"Gooshie," Al yelled as he stood up and headed towards Teal'c, "Calibrate my signal back to the original setting. Ziggy, focus in on Sam's vital signs and tell me his condition and see if you can get the condition of the others."

Ziggy's cool voice floated through the air. "Dr. Sam Beckett has suffered a concussion and will be unconscious for approximately 9.3 minutes. Dr. Jackson and Captain Carter suffered similar injuries, and Dr. Jackson has also sustained a broken arm. Teal'c…"

At the mention of Teal'c, Ziggy paused for a second.

Happy that his friend and the others weren't going to die from their injuries, but by now almost frantic at the amount of smoke taking over the room, Al's only option was to try and wake up Teal'c in time to get his friend and the others out of that room. "Gooshie, have you recalibrated the signal?" At the pause of Ziggy's report, however, Al paused for a second.

Ziggy resumed her report. "Teal'c has also sustained a minor head injury. Admiral, this individual seems to possess a…creature within him."

Al, although not a genius, was smart enough that, even with the stress of the situation, he realized the significance of Ziggy's statement. "Ziggy, do you mean to tell me that Teal'c has an alien in him, like in the movies or something? Is that the reason he could se me?" Another idea struck him just as the words were coming out of his mouth. "Ziggy, if you have analyzed that much of Teal'c, can you alter the signal in a way that allows him to hear me?"

As Al stood over Teal'c, he looked at the handlink. The calculations spewing from the display were enough to make even Dr. Beckett pause, but they were quickly replaced on the screen by other equations just as elaborate. All Al could do was glance back at the smoke filled room, and even though it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something different. He silently cursed the military for all the top secret activities that prevented Ziggy from knowing about this incident; he cursed Fate or Time of whatever had grabbed Dr. Beckett at that first Leap for taking his friend in the first place, and, even for a microsecond, he cursed Sam for being so kind and dedicated and risking his life for total strangers and putting himself into this situation.

"Admiral, you should be able to communicate with him now."

Al looked back at Teal'c. "Thanks Ziggy." Kneeling beside Teal'c, Al started to shout. "Hey, big guy, wake up! Hey, you, can you hear me? Get up; your friends are in trouble."

As Al looked back at the room to check on the smoke, Teal'c groaned and started to move his body.

"That's it; start moving around. No, you're still not dead, you're still alive and kickin'. Now, see the smoke in that room. Your friends are in that room. If you don't get up right now, though, your friends are going to die. C'mon, get up!"

Teal'c, obviously not feeling his best, managed to turn over his body and half crawl, half lift himself up against the wall. His eyes still pretty much closed, he stumbled across the hallway and grabbed the doorway to steady himself. Al wasn't sure if Teal'c realized what exactly was going on, but he was sure that Teal'c could at least hear him. "Good, now, they are at the end of the room. Hurry, you gotta pull them outta there!"

Teal'c left the doorway and stumbled into the room. By this time, the smoke was so thick that he could barely see his hand in front of his face. As he inhaled the hot smoke, he started to cough. Stepping in front of Teal'c, Al urged him to continue as he guided Teal'c towards the others. As Teal'c reached the other side, the smoke became almost too much for him to bear, and he collapsed on his hands and knees, coughing, next to his friends.

"That's OK, Teal'c, just breath for a minute. Look, the air's better closer to the floor." Wanting to keep him awake and in good spirits, Al tried to keep himself calm while trying to keep Teal'c focused on his task. "Look, you found them, not all you have to do is drag them out into the hallway. It's not far; you can slide them across the floor. Here, lay down in front of them with your back to the hallway, reach out to them, and drag them towards you." Al, afraid that to try to get one person at a time was too much for Teal'c to handle in his condition, sat down next to him and demonstrated what he wanted Teal'c to do. Teal'c, still dazed from the explosion, but a bit more aware of what was going on, managed to grab something of each person; an arm, a vest, a piece of their uniform, and started to pull. At every two feet or so, Teal'c would slide back towards the hallway, then reach out again and drag them with him. With Al urging him on, Teal'c managed to drag the rest of the team out into the hallway, where he collapsed, having no more energy left than the will to breath.

Al, himself exhausted from the emotional strain of the events, fell down next to Sam. "Thanks, Teal'c, you did it." As the team and Al sat there in the dark hallway, the smoke slowly started to dissipate from the room, nothing could be heard except for the breathing of the group. As Al looked over the group lying on the floor, the realization that the outcome of the circumstances could have been a lot worse dawned on him, and he silently thanked whatever power could hear him that everyone survived.

* * *

Endnote: I based the concept that Ziggy could analyze the vital signs of others around Sam from the series itself, although I don't think it was used a lot, but enough to be known.


End file.
